Here are my picks for 10 movies to check out this summer:
“Maggie” (May 8) – This could be what “Cop Land” was to Sylvester Stallone years ago: The movie where critics respect Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting performance. Or maybe not, but I already give the filmmakers credit for trying. In this mood piece, Arnold plays the father of Abigail Breslin, who seems to be slowly turning into a zombie.
“Pitch Perfect 2” (May 15) – Even if it’s not as entertaining as the original, there are worse things than looking at Brittany Snow and Anna Kendrick for a couple hours.
“Tomorrowland” (May 22) – Not many computer-effects-driven films interest me, but this one – based on a Disney theme park ride – looks like a fun exception. Britt Robertson and George Clooney explore a world where the technology of tomorrow gets invented.
“Jurassic World” (June 12) – Never underestimate the power of a good PR push to overcome the disastrous soft openings on Isla Nublar and in San Diego. People still love dinosaurs, and that’s why the park – and the saga’s fourth installment — is finally opening.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” (June 12) – The latest in the cancersplotation genre features “Bates Motel’s” big-eyed Olivia Cooke, trading in cystic fibrosis for cancer.
“Ted 2” (June 26) – The concept of Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried and others playing it straight around a talking teddy bear (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) should still have mileage in it. In this sequel, Ted is getting married to his human fiancée, but he faces obstacles in getting his marriage legally recognized.
“Terminator Genisys” (July 1) – The latest trailer for the saga’s fifth entry is nearly indistinguishable from a parody, but I still hope it’ll be a good movie. If not, maybe it’ll work as an unintentional comedy.
“Trainwreck” (July 17) – Amy Schumer of Comedy Central’s sketch show “Inside Amy Schumer” brings her wittily observational humor to a full-length Judd Apatow-directed movie, where her cynical commitment-phobe falls for Bill Hader.
“Paper Towns” (July 24) – The latest adaptation of a young-adult novel by “The Fault in Our Stars’ “ John Green looks to capture the emotional truisms of teenagerdom and first love as a group of friends go on an impromptu road trip to track down a mysterious runaway girl.
“Vacation” (July 31) – Despite the lazy title, this is happily a sequel, not a remake, of the Chevy Chase classic, starring Ed Helms as grown-up Rusty Griswold.
(I didn’t forget about August; it’s just that its lineup looks a little thin at the moment. Hopefully we’ll get a few late-summer surprises.) What movies are you most looking forward to this summer?